


Gut Feeling

by ThatMasterOnline



Category: Far Cry 4
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-16 23:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13064736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatMasterOnline/pseuds/ThatMasterOnline
Summary: Ajay sees some disturbing images while going to kill Yuma, and he's not happy about it. He has to protect Bhadra at all costs.





	Gut Feeling

“I want you to go into every home and find every child. Every child. You bring them back here, to me. Go.”

“You can either get in line, or get out of the way.”

“I’ve sent her away. I don’t need a Tarun Matara here for our enemies to rally behind.”

“Don’t bother trying to find her. Bhadra’s not coming back.”

It was all Yuma’s vision, Ajay told himself. Just another drugged up illusion Yuma put in his head to fuck with him. And yet, no matter how many times he told himself that, he couldn’t stop himself from shaking. Was that the future? Was that what would happen if he put Amita in power? She’d kill Bhadra, force the other kids off to war? He couldn’t let that happen. Bhadra was the only good thing left in this country. He cared for her. She wasn’t trying to manipulate him, she truly wanted what was best for Kyrat. He couldn’t let anything happen to her. No matter how many times he told himself that Amita cared for Bhadra and wouldn't let anything happen to her, the nagging seed of doubt had been planted, and it would only fester.

***

“You have to understand that whoever you back at Jalendu will become the unquestioned leader of the Golden Path, and once Pagan is defeated, they will control Kyrat as well.”

He’d sided with Amita for everything. He wanted women to be equal as much as anyone, but…

“I don’t need a Tarun Matara here for our enemies to rally behind.”

“Don’t bother trying to find her. Bhadra’s not coming back.” It was just another one of Yuma’s drugged-up fantasies, but...what if? What if it was a vision of the future? What if that was Bhadra’s fate if he sided with Amita? Feeling sick to his stomach, with his heart pounding in his chest, he went to Sabal.

“Sabal. I hear Amita’s ready to move on Jalendu.” He watched as Sabal took the news poorly, his face contorting in anger. Ajay felt like he had betrayed Amita, but...he couldn’t risk Bhadra.

“That ignorant bitch! It’s bad enough having Pagan destroying everything, now she wants to do his job for him?! ...I’m done with her. ...I can’t tell you what Jalendu means to Kyrat. What it means to Mohan. He’s proud of you, you know? ...We’re taking the temple, we’re cleansing Bhadra, we’re uniting the people under the light of Kyra.” Ajay turned to go, but Sabal stopped him.

“Ajay.” Ajay looked back, and Sabal sighed.

“Why are you backing me all of a sudden? I appreciate you telling me about Jalendu, I do, I just...I’d like to know why.” Ajay swallowed down the sick feeling in his throat.

“It’s...complicated…” He managed to mutter, and Sabal sighed. After a few seconds consideration, he nodded.

“Okay. We’ll talk later.”

***

There wasn’t much time for later. After he secured the temple, he was all but ignoring Sabal, too focused on Bhadra. The look she sent him was so...confused. Confused and betrayed. Sabal was saying something about tradition and honour, but he wasn’t listening. Before Sabal could comment on Ajay’s distracted behaviour, the peace was shattered.

“Artillery!”

“They’re shelling Utkarsh! Go, GO!!”

***

After Utkarsh, Ajay was given his final task.

“Amita needs to go.”

Ajay wouldn't have been in the mood to talk, even if Sabal had asked.

***

Ajay was shaking head to toe as he killed Amita’s loyalists.

“I have to do this!” One of them shouted as they shot at him, “You’re not yourself!” Perhaps he wasn’t. He really wasn’t, supporting Sabal and going to kill Amita on a suspicion from a drugged-up hallucination he’d had. That was hardly concrete evidence. The hands that pointed the gun at Amita’s chest were shaking.

“Don’t bother looking for her. Bhadra’s not coming back.” 

“Bhadra’s not coming back.”

He shot her. Above all else, he had to protect Bhadra. He had to keep her safe.

***

“When you sided with Amita, you chose to turn against your religion, your country, your own people. Now you kneel before the Tarun Matara asking forgiveness? Hm? No. NO. Where was that forgiveness when you butchered your brothers and sisters? So I say to you today, you chose to slit your own throats, not me.” Ajay looked over and he saw Bhadra, alive and well, and he nearly collapsed with relief.

“Wait! Bhadra…” She’s alive? She’s not going to be killed? Sabal misinterpreted the intention behind his words and stepped forward, eyes dangerous. Ajay wasn’t listening. Bhadra was alive. He’d saved her. That was all that mattered. Sabal shoved him towards her and he fell at her feet, looking at her in wonder.

“...Why, Ajay?” She asked, her eyes downcast.

“...You’re alive...You’re alive now, that’s all that matters…” Bhadra refused to talk to him after that, and Ajay let himself close his eyes. None of it mattered anymore. Bhadra could be pissed at him all she wanted. At least she was alive. He’d fucked the country, but at least Bhadra was alive. 

***

“...Brother? Brother, hey. Ajay, wake up, you’re going to catch cold if you stay out here any longer.” Ajay stirred, shuddering as he did so. 

“Brother, I...I wanted to apologize. I overreacted, and I behaved irrationally and treated you poorly. I am sorry.”

“Sure...Where’s Bhadra?”

Ajay wasn’t even looking at him. Sabal sighed. It didn't look like Ajay was outright ignoring him, Ajay wasn’t that kind of person, but he was certainly distracted, barely acknowledging him. He’d worry about apologizing later. For now, he’d focus on the one thing that seemed to have Ajay’s attention. Bhadra, apparently.

“Inside, brother,” Sabal stressed, “Because it’s cold.” As much as he wanted to talk, he’d much rather do inside where Ajay wouldn't freeze to death without noticing. “She asked to go inside about two hours ago, so we took her home, and if we don’t get you home you’ll freeze to death, so come on.” 

“Oh.” Slowly Ajay got to his feet, and Sabal wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“You’re shivering,” he commented lightly. When Ajay made no response, he sighed.

“Ajay...can we talk?” Finally he coaxed a response out of Ajay. The man blinked, looking over at him with a frown.

“Aren’t we already?” He asked, and Sabal smiled.

“Yes, but I’d like to be serious now.”

“Oh.” Ajay looked away, and Sabal pressed on before Ajay could completely slip away into his thoughts.

“Ajay, I wanted to thank you for siding with me at Jalendu. You even killed Amita for me, and that means a lot. I am grateful, brother, eternally so. I am, but...I’m still confused as to why you shifted sides so suddenly.”

“Oh.” Another reaction; this time a frown, and a gulp. “It’s…”

“Complicated, yes. But, Ajay…” Finally he had Ajay’s full attention; he sighed heavily.

“You can’t accept that as an answer. I know. It’s...it’s just...hard to describe.”

“That’s alright. Take your time, Ajay.”

“I don’t...It’s hard.” He’d never seen Ajay lost for words before; this was new. He’d have to coax it out of Ajay piece by piece.

“Okay, let’s break this up. Let’s start at the beginning. Where is the beginning?”

“Yuma.” 

“How...how is Yuma the beginning?”

“She drugged me, when I went to kill her.”

“Okay...so the beginning is Yuma. What happened while you were...under the influence of Yuma’s drugs?”

“Um...I saw Amita.”

“Okay…And then…?”

“I was...walking up...or down...I’m not entirely sure, I think I got lost. I was in a forest, following a stream. It was like...there were spotlights, shining on Amita. Or visions of her. She said…” He paused, and Sabal waited, forcing himself to be patient.

“She said she had sent Bhadra away, because she didn’t need a Tarun Matara. She said not to bother looking for her because…Bhadra wasn’t coming back.” He sighed heavily, and Sabal squeezed his shoulders gently.

“I tried to tell myself so many times that it was just one of Yuma’s visions, that it was just inside my head, that I was drugged out of my mind and none of it was true, but...Bhadra. Bhadra’s the only person here who hasn’t been screwing with me since the second we met, and...I knew, for sure, you wanted Bhadra to be Tarun Matara. I knew for sure Amita didn’t want her to be Tarun Matara. I didn’t know what Amita would do with Bhadra after she was in power, and...after what I’d seen...I couldn’t risk it.” Sabal ushered him into the safe house and Ajay sagged into a chair and dropped his head in his hands.

“I sound so sure of myself but...I put you in power on a hunch. A hunch created by my own mind under the influence of a fuckton of drugs. That’s not exactly a lot to go by. And god, I screwed the country over royally but none of it matters because Bhadra is alive and well and that’s all I ever wanted. I didn’t know what Amita would do, but I knew for sure you needed Bhadra alive. She hates me now but that’s okay, it’s all okay, because at least she’s alive to hate me. The worst part is...I'll never know. Amita's dead, and I’ll never know if what I saw would really have come to pass. And it’s...fucked. Everything is fucked.” He looked like he was going to speak, but he finally fell quiet, slumping on the table.

“...Fuck.” Sabal took a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh. That’s what he had been so preoccupied with. Bhadra, making sure she was alright, alive, unharmed. Sabal, Jalendu, his awkward apologies, all of it was second to Bhadra’s well-being. He took a few moments, choosing his words carefully.

“...Bhadra is going to be well taken care of, well educated. The Tarun Matara deserves no less.”

“And what about everyone else?”

“Despite what Amita said,” Sabal said a little defensively, “I am not pining for a world where little girls are married to men three times their age. Puberty is not adulthood, anymore. I’ve seen women fight in the Golden Path just as effectively and better than the men. Educating our girls as well means they grow up to contribute to society, and we’ll need that. Besides, the only reason we aren’t sending our children to school now is that the only schools available are Pagan’s brainwashing centres. It has nothing to do with holding our girls back. We stopped doing that ages ago, perhaps recently enough that some people would rather not have their girls educated, but long enough that it’s how we do things now. I’m simply trying to keep our traditions alive, not bring Kyrat back to the dark ages. The times have changed, and we need to change with them. I’m not even against homosexuality.” Ajay stared at Sabal like he was an angel. He sighed then, and Sabal saw him mouthe something under his breath. He couldn’t be sure, but with the way Ajay’s top teeth touched his bottom lip it looked an awful lot like ‘thank fuck’.

“Oh. Okay. So...So I didn’t fuck everything up. I...made the right choice. You can change. We can fix this.”

“We can fix this,” Sabal repeated. Whatever lies Amita had filled his head with were coming undone. He would work at untangling the rest later.


End file.
